Community Rights! Who Decides? an Introductory Workshop - Ashland

Introductory Workshop to the MovementTuesday, June 16, from 6:00-9:00 pm
Sentry Room at Northland College in Ashland

Description:

Did you know that it's illegal for a city, town, or county government to pass laws that protect the health and welfare of a community from destructive corporate activities? No wonder it's so difficult to stop corporate mines, pipelines, and factory farms, even when an entire community opposes such activities. There are fascinating historical reasons why communities are not allowed to pass such laws, but these reasons make no sense as they violate We the People's right of self-government that our ancestors fought and died for in the American Revolution.

Paul Cienfuegos' introductory workshop will...

* share some of this history,

* introduce the Community Rights movement as a bold response to these unjust laws, and

* outline how We the People can breathe new life into civic engagement by reclaiming the structures of law that have made real democracy impossible until now.

Since 1999, 200 communities in nine states have passed legally groundbreaking locally-enforceable Community Rights laws which...

* strip corporations of their so-called constitutional "rights",

* ban specific harmful corporate activities, and

* enshrine the right of a community to govern itself and to protect the health and welfare of its residents – human and otherwise.

These laws have banned fracking and oil drilling, water withdrawal for bottling, toxic sludge dumping on farmland, corporate-managed infrastructure, unsustainable energy development, and more. 95% of these laws have never been challenged in court.

“We the People” must exercise our RIGHT to pass laws that protect our community's health and welfare. Let's get organized!

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Bio:

Paul Cienfuegos is a leader in the Community Rights movement, which works to dismantle corporate constitutional so-called “rights” and assert the people's inherent right to govern themselves. He has been leading workshops, giving public talks, and organizing local communities since 1995 when he founded Democracy Unlimited in northern California. Since 2011, he has lived in Portland, Oregon, where he co-founded CommunityRightsPDX.org, and helped establish the Oregon Community Rights Network which launched in 2013. His talks have been broadcast nationally on David Barsamian's show, 'Alternative Radio'. Since August 2014, he does a weekly radio commentary & podcast: CommunityRightsPDX.org/podcast, that any station can broadcast at no charge. More info at PaulCienfuegos.com.